Henrik Ibsen

Nora - Christmas at the Helmers

Katona József Theater, Budapest

The set of problems that Nora deals with, exist today as well, but since the original play is from the end of the 19th century, we wanted to refresh the play regarding the dramaturgy, the proportion of text and action, and the characterization. In the last 140 years the situation of women has changed in Western Europe indeed, however, when something changes in the legal sense, it does not necessarily affect society immediately. An idea suddenly gives start to a progress, but human behaviours, strong habitual patterns follow the changes very slowly. It’s not just about the situation of women, there are so many things like that. The way people think, feel and make decisions follow similar patterns as before. This Nora performance is based on the things that should have changed, but have not changed at all.

We also wanted to address the world-wide crisis of marriage and long-term relationships. A family is falling apart on the stage. At such points of crisis there are no good or bad, there are just opposing intentions, unfulfilled needs and a lot of repression. In the story of Nora and Helmer’s marriage, besides the overwhelming restrictions that the pre-set roles of a marriage entail, lack of self-knowledge and the lack of freedom is what leads to divorce. This is still a problem to address in every relationship.

The other three characters, Krogstad, Kristine and Rank are very lonely. None of them yet live the life they wished to live by now. They cannot be free from their past, but during the play, their lives change abruptly. We wanted to present these characters and the stories of their lives in a recognizable and relatable manner, without getting them faded by the bourgeois milieu of the original play. People’s longing for a better life, the mercilessness of society, the link between money and power have not changed much since Ibsen’s time, life is not fairer neither in our society, nor in our families. All these topics are there in the original play, but the focus and the text needed certain adjustments, so that our audiences not believe that these problems belong to a past era that we luckily left behind.

Nóra                      Ónodi Eszter

Helmer                 Fekete Ernő

Krogstad              Keresztes Tamás

Kristine                 Pelsőczy Réka

Rank                      Kocsis Gergely

               

Children: Varga Koppány, Varga Zorka, Engárd Emil

Musicians: Himmler Andris, Szalai Álmos

 

Scenography                         Balázs Juli

Costumes                              Nagy Fruzsina

Lights                                   Pető József

Music                                 Matisz Flóra Lili

Dramaturgy                      Szabó-Székely Ármin

Assistant                              Budavári Réka, Sütheő Márton

Director                                    Székely Kriszta

 

Premiere: 21 decembrie 2016

Duration: 1h40min